“Friday is going to be a super exciting day,” Lowell Hutcheson, assistant director of arts programming, said. 

Darrah Carr Dance will perform in Waterman Theatre on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m., a performance that Hutcheson thinks will be “really fun and high energy” and “a big crowd pleaser.”

“We are working to create this really vibrant art scene on campus and we are slowly moving there and it’s really exciting,” Hutcheson said. “Friday is going to be a really good representation of that.”

ARTSwego connected with Darrah Carr Dance through a conference in New York City. Hutcheson said that either herself or the director of Artswego, Miranda Traudt, attends every January where “thousands of mini performances” occur over four days. Traudt saw Darrah Carr Dance at the conference last January and has been in contact with them to set up this performance ever since.

“This is the first time in the past five years that we have done any sort of Irish dance and live music,” Hutcheson said. “It is something we used to do … and we had a lot of support for what I think was called ‘Celtic Nights’ and that was a big hit with the community, but it was 10-15 years ago. We are kind of circling back and bringing this back.”

Darrah Carr Dance is an Irish dance and music group composed of six dancers and four musicians based in New York City. Previously, they have performed on “The Today Show” and at Carnegie Hall, according to their website.

The performers also taught a master class for a dance class at SUNY Oswego and “Steppin’ and Stompin’ Irish Dance & Music Workshop” at the Children’s Museum of Oswego on Feb. 16. 

“ARTSwego is funded by the student arts fee, so everything we do we have students in mind because it is your money that is paying for these artists to come here,” Hutcheson said. “We will not collaborate with artists if they will not provide some sort of masterclass, workshop or some sort of engagement with our students.”

She also said that it is important for students to engage with professionals in the field they are pursuing. Having artists go into classrooms gives students the opportunity to ask questions and talk directly to those doing what they will be. 

“For us it’s huge to include the community because they are a big part of what we do and are big supporters of what we do,” Hutcheson said. “It’s one more aspect where the community can connect with the college and the college can connect with the community.”

Another aspect that Hutcheson is excited about is the opportunity to bring grade school students to SUNY Oswego. Students from Oswego City Schools will attend a matinee performance on Friday.

“Zooming out, it’s a recruitment tool,” Hutcheson said. “These students are able to come to campus and see the cool things we are doing and take that home. Hopefully we are building these lifelong links between these younger students and SUNY Oswego so when they are looking at colleges they keep us in mind.”

Along with the evening performance, the Clay Club is hosting a vendor sale in support of their organization from 3 to 5 p.m. with accompanying live music and ARTSwego is hosting a gallery reception for the new exhibit in Tyler Hall from 5 to 7 p.m.

“We are going to have this day of really vibrant arts events,” Hutcheson said. “We are trying to convince people to come early and browse the exhibition opening … The artists will be there so you can chat with them then make your way down to the show.”

For more information or questions about the show, contact artswego@oswego.edu or visit 105 Mahar Hall. 

Photo via: oswego.edu